World news : Pope Francis admits he is a sinner who could have been JAILED

POPE Francis has revealed himself as  sinner who could have ended up in prison in his first book aimed at the general public.
The Pope describes himself as a sinner in his new book

He also repeated his much-quoted phrase in support of gay Catholics, spoke about his special relationship with prisoners, and revealed one of his nieces had married a divorced man, an act very much frowned upon by traditional members of the Catholic church.

The Name of God is Mercy, due for release in 86 countries on Tuesday, calls on leaders in the Roman Catholic Church to show compassion to "wounded humanity" rather than being quick to condemn and exclude those who don't conform to the faith.
In the book he writes: "I have always been very much attached to them, precisely because of the awareness that I have of being a sinner.

"Every time I cross the doorway of a prison, I always ask myself, 'Why are they here, and not me? I should be here, I should deserve to be here.' Their fall could have been mine. I don't feel superior to those in front of me."

Pope Francis has repeated his support for gay Catholics
Continuing with the theme of sin, Francis, 79, goes as far as to say God prefers sinners who seek forgiveness to self-righteous moralisers who don't.

He said: "The church condemns sin, because it has to tell the truth: this is a sin. But at the same time, it embraces the sinner who acknowledges what he is."

The 150-page work features his well-known statement about homosexuals, "who am I to judge?", and goes on to say "people should not be defined only by their sexual identities".

He initially made the now-famous comment in 2013 and said he was paraphrasing existing church teachings.

He said: "Before all else comes the individual person, in his wholeness and dignity. And people should not be defined only by their sexual tendencies: let us not forget that God loves all his creatures and we are destined to receive his infinite love."

Rather than making homosexuals feel isolated or abandoned by the Catholic church, the pope said he would rather "they stay close to the Lord, and that we pray all together".
Some in the Vatican City have criticised Pope Francis' views

The publication is described by the Argentine pope's publicity team as a question and answer book and is said to be written in "simple, breezy language"

following a freewheeling conversation with veteran Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli.

The release of the book coincides with the Jubilee Year of Mercy, a Roman Catholic Period of prayer that lasts from the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in December last year to the Feast of Christ the King in November 20 this year, during which the world's 1.2 billion Catholics are called upon to seek forgiveness and forgive.

But in his book, Francis, appears to criticise more conservative members of the church for undermining mercy in the name of their beliefs.

He writes: "The church does not exist to condemn people but to bring about an encounter with the visceral love of God's mercy" before adding that "humanity is wounded, deeply wounded".

Francis then criticises those in the church who "are only used to having things fit into their pre-conceived notions and ritual purity instead of letting themselves be surprised by reality, by a greater love or a higher standard".



Posted by tboixy